‘Not hopeless at all’: Intervention specialist, police chief talk solutions after back-to-back teen violence in Twin Cities

Intervention specialist, police chief talk solutions after back-to-back teen violence in Twin Cities

Intervention specialist, police chief talk solutions after back-to-back teen violence in Twin Cities

Two teens were hurt — including one with a graze wound to the head — after a shooting in St. Paul on Wednesday morning.

Police said they were called to the intersection of North Frank Street and Ross Avenue East in the city’s Dayton Bluff neighborhood just before 10:30 a.m., adding that callers reported gunshots and about ten people fighting.

There, officers found a 14-year-old boy with a graze wound to his head and a 15-year-old boy grazed in the leg, according to preliminary information from St. Paul Police. St. Paul Fire medics transported both to Regions Hospital for treatment, a police spokesperson said.

No suspects have been found.

It followed another incident of teen violence the morning prior on Minneapolis’s Northside.

Minneapolis police said a 14-year-old boy was arrested for what officers believe was the accidental shooting death of his friend, a 13-year-old boy.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office wouldn’t share specifics because of his age but confirmed he was charged and appeared in court today.

Connie Rhodes is the founder of Restoration, Inc., an organization working to change outcomes for teenagers and young adults caught up in the cycle of violence.

“My heart just really goes out to the family,” she reacted on Wednesday.

“This shouldn’t happen. You know, I get so, just so tired of seeing our young people dying.”

Rhodes uses her therapy background to provide restorative therapy and provide youth with alternative activities and outlets “and learn to resolve conflict in real-time.” She does this work with her team, in part, out of a purple building known as Haven of Hope on Fremont Avenue North.

“Because that affects you. You just don’t watch your friend die, and you’re okay to go to school, and you’re okay to keep going,” she said. “Then, it happens again. It happens again, then it happens again, right?”

In an interview on Tuesday evening, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter and victim in Tuesday’s shooting were well known to police.

“I believe the shooter in this case just came off electronic monitoring after serving, I think, 14 days of electronic monitoring for a weapons offense,” Chief O’Hara added.

“Come on. I mean, I would ground my kid longer than that. They’re given 14 days of electronic monitoring. We’re serious?”

“There has to be a consequence,” Rhodes agreed. “Every action has a consequence.”

Beyond effective consequences and restorative therapy, Rhodes and the chief stressed the importance of gun locks and other measures to keep kids from having access to firearms.

“It’s extremely important for people to, one, be trained in how to use them safely, and to make sure they’re storing their firearms that they can’t be stolen, or that a kid can’t get a hold of it and wind up killing themselves,” Chief O’Hara said.

“If a family’s going to have a gun, you know, we need to have a gun lock, and Restoration, Inc., we can provide those… We have free gun locks,” Rhodes added.

“And I believe that people can change. I believe thoughts can change,” Rhodes continued. “We’ve seen young people who were once carrying a gun… now, you know, they’re working. They’ve got a good job. They’re doing great. They’re working with their families. It’s not hopeless at all. It’s just a matter of working together.”

Rhodes said families can reach out to Restoration, Inc. directly to get a free gun lock and access restorative therapy, job training and other resources provided by the organization.